


Lost then Found

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Lost then Found [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7422439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When searching for Roland's lost stuffed monkey, Regina stumbles upon a ring box.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lost then Found

“What if he’s gone forever?” Roland asks quietly, his bottom lip trembling as his wide, brown eyes fill with tears.

For the better part of an hour, he’s put on a brave face—calmly informing them all that his favorite stuffed monkey, the one he cannot sleep without, that has been his favorite and most loyal companion for more than a year—has gone missing. They’ve checked beneath his bed, in his toy box and in his hamper with yesterday’s pajamas; they’ve searched Henry’s bedroom and their own, the stairways, even in the backyard in the garden and by the swing set. They’ve searched everywhere Roland remembers being and even some of the places he swears he wasn’t, thoroughly examining each space but, still, the monkey is nowhere to be found.

Robin and Regina exchange helpless glances—they’re out of places to look, and they’re exhausted, but they are both are well aware that Roland will not willingly sleep without his favorite stuffed animal.

“That’s not possible, sweetheart,” Regina insists gently, as she pulls Roland into her lap and folds her arms around him. “He’s here…somewhere,” she murmurs, pressing her lips against his hair as she cuddles him.

“He couldn’t have just walked away.” Henry says, offering the smaller boy an empathetic grin. “Why don’t we go upstairs? You can stay in my room and we’ll watch a movie—your pick. It’ll be fun—like a sleep over.”

Roland considers for a moment, but his face falls. “But, my monkey…”

Robin stoops down in front of his son, brushing away the boy’s tears with his thumbs, “We’ll keep looking. I promise.”  
He leans in and drops a soft kiss on Roland’s forehead. “Have we ever let you down?”

Roland sniffles, shaking his head, “No.”

“Then why would we start now?”

Henry reaches out his hand, and Roland looks at it. His lip still trembles, but he slowly reaches out and takes Henry’s hand, sliding from Regina’s lap. “You’ll keep looking?” He asks, look between Robin and Regina. They both nod. “And if you find him, you’ll bring him up to me?”

“Immediately,” Regina says with a definitive nod.

“Okay,” Roland says, batting his free hand over his teary eyes. He looks up at Henry, “Any movie?” Regina offers a thankful smile to her son and Robin’s hand pats his shoulder in gratitude, both watching as Roland’s small fingers curl around Henry’s hand.

“Any movie,” they hear Henry confirm as they start up the stairs.

Robin watches as the boys disappear, waiting until he hears Henry’s bedroom door shut before he turns to Regina with wide eyes, “What if it really is bloody well gone forever?”

“It’s not,” she replies in a curt tone. “That’s impossible.” Sliding off the stool at the kitchen counter, her eyes meet his. “I’m not above turning some poor, unfortunate soul into a flying monkey, just to create another stuffed animal for him, but…I’m pretty sure he’d know the difference.”

Robin laughs, drawing her in and pressing his lips against her cheek.

“You laugh because you don’t think I’m serious, but…”

“I’m laughing because I know that you are,” he counters, grinning at her. “I love how much you love him.”

“He makes it easy,” she replies. “Even when he insists we stay up well past his bedtime in search of a missing toy.” Leaning in she kisses him quickly. “I’m going to check the living room again, in case Henry missed something; so, why don’t you go downstairs and see if he somehow ended up in the laundry chute?”

“And if we don’t find it…we’ll rendezvous in the foyer to come up with another plan,” Robin says, as he steps away from her and makes his way toward the steps.

Walking into the living room, she stands in the center of the room as her eyes helplessly search over every surface. She checks behind the couch and under the coffee table, beneath the throw pillows and in the cabinet where Henry’s video games are kept. Her search comes up empty and she sighs dejectedly as her frustration grows. “Where the hell could it be?” She asks aloud, pushing her hands through her hair as she looks around the room. Her eyes fall into Henry’s jacket which hangs over the back of a chair, and her brow furrows as she remembers that it was chilly that morning and earlier in their search, Roland thought he might have brought his monkey out to the swing set to play.

Grabbing Henry’s jacket, she moves to the closet, hanging it up as her fingers push through an array of coats. She smiles as her fingers touch upon Roland’s favorite brown, quilted jacket and she pulls it from the hanger so quickly that one of the coats that hangs beside it falls to the floor. She squeezes the arm and her smile widens as she pulls Roland’s monkey from the coat’s sleeve.

“Robin!” she calls in triumphant relief, “I found it!”

Tucking the stuffed animal safely under her arm, she drapes Roland’s coat over the other arm and stoops to pick up Robin’s fallen jacket, tossing it over Roland’s as she stands—but as she lifts it, an small, deep red satin box tumbles from its pocket.

Her lips purse as her eyes settle on the box, and for a moment, the only thing she can do is stare at it—because it’s not just a jewelry box, it’s a ring box.

She reaches for it, allowing the coats to fall to the floor as she stands up. Her fingers traces over the soft satin—she knows that she should return it to Robin’s pocket, but she can’t bring herself to do it. Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she walks to the living room and sinks into a chair; her breath catches and she feels a rush of emotion as she looks down at the sparkling stone set in a silver band.

“Regina, did you really…” She looks up, her thoughts are a jumbled mess and she sees that Robin’s standing at the threshold, his eyes on the ring box. “You found it.” She watches as he grimaces and rubs his hand roughly over the back of his neck. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”

She nods, offering a sheepish grin as she holds up the monkey, “I found this, too.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he tells her with a sigh. “We haven’t even…talked about it.”

“You’re right,” she replies quietly, her eyes falling back to the ring. “We haven’t.”

She feels knot forming in her stomach—it’s not that she’s been actively avoiding the conversation, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been somewhat relieved when it hadn’t come up. Her thoughts on the subject are cloudy, at best—a myriad of mixed emotions that have little to nothing to do with the man standing before her and everything to do with past experiences she’d rather not think about. Marriage, she was always taught, was a contract—a binding, life-long contract that’s more to do with power than anything else; and her experience proved that to be true.

She can’t help but remember her wedding day—the warm spring air, the throngs of people lining the streets in anticipation of the royal wedding, nobility and royalty from all across the land who’d come to catch a glimpse of the good king’s young bride. She remembers how she’d looked across the crowd and recognized not a single face and how her hands trembled under the weight of the gold ring that Leopold slid onto her finger—a symbol not of his love for her, but of his dominance over her, a symbol of her obligation and duty.

Marriage is a topic she’s glad to not have had to broach; though, it was inevitable that it would come up eventually.

“How long have you had it?” She asks, pushing away her thoughts.

“A few weeks,” he tells her with a small, but curious smile that makes her wonder if her eyes have betrayed her, showing her reservations and worries. “I saw it in a shop and…and it somehow made me think of you.” He clears his throat and takes a step toward her. “I was waiting for the perfect moment, but I’ve yet to find it.”

“The perfect moment,” she repeats with little laugh as she averts his eyes—she’ll concede, there haven’t been many of those. “So, you’ve thought about this.”

“Indeed. I have.” Again, he’s eyeing her curiously, looking through the flimsy façade of her smile. “Regina…”

“And I suppose this wasn’t the perfect moment you imagined,” she supplies, her heart beat quickening when Robin’s gaze grows tentative. “How did you…imagine it?”

He smiles gently and his eyes are so full of love that it makes her heart ache. “When I imagined it, I didn’t think we would be in the middle of trying to break some impossible curse and we wouldn’t have spent the better part of the evening searching for a lost monkey while our five-year-old cried.” He laughs a little. “There are a few different scenarios that I imagined,” he begins. “But in one version of how things could have gone. I would have made you dinner. There would have been champagne and candles, maybe some roses—very romantic.”

She watches as he moves toward her, his smile deepening and his blue eyes shining. She can feel a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, as warm tears well in her eyes, as her throat constricts and her heart races faster.

“I would have told you all of the reasons I love you—from your smile, to your strength and resilience, to the way you carry yourself with such poise; the way you love so wholly—how without ever being asked you cared for and loved my son. And I would have told you that having you in my life has made it infinitely better, that you’ve opened up doors I’d thought were closed forever. And I would have told you that we’ve spent far too many years living separate lives, that without knowing it I spent a life time searching for you, and now that I’ve found you, I never want to let you go.” He pauses, “And then, I would have asked.”

She watches as he steps closer and stoops down in front of her, lifting the box from her hand. Leaning in he places a soft kiss on her cheek, nuzzling his cheek against hers as he whispers his love to her. Slowly he withdraws, smiling sweetly as he closes the box and puts it in his pocket, careful to keep her gaze. “But perhaps this isn’t our moment.”

She presses her eyes shut to keep her tears at bay, hating to be a disappointment. She knows this isn’t the reaction he’d expected, regardless of whether or not they’ve discussed it. Everything about their life together has indicated this to the direction they’d take. “It’s not that I…”

“It’s okay,” he tells her, his voice so sincere that she actually believes that it is.

His hand wraps around hers, and she opens her eyes; and yet again, his blue eyes are soft and sweet, and she feels a rush of emotion and a need to explain what she’s thinking. “Robin, I…” But yet again she feels her breath catch at the back of her throat and she realizes she doesn’t know how to put her thoughts into words. She sighs in frustration, frustrated with herself for getting in the way of what should love been a perfectly lovely, unexpected moment between them. “It’s late and we promised Roland we’d bring him his monkey when we found it.”

“That we did,” Robin says with a nod, as he pulls the stuffed toy from underneath her arm. “I suppose we should make good on our promise then.”

She nods and takes his hand, wrapping her fingers loosely around his and leads him up the stairs. When they arrive in Henry’s room, she can’t help but smile. She glances back at Robin—he’s smiling too.

Roland is cuddled up against Henry, his cheek pressed against Henry’s side and his little hands cling to the older boy’s pajama top. Henry’s arm is draped around him, almost protectively, holding the smaller child close. A movie is playing, but both boys have their eyes closed. She feels Robin’s finger tips press into her hips and his chin rests on her shoulder. “Should we wake him?” Robin murmurs in a barely audible whisper.

She’s quiet for a moment, watching Henry and Roland sleep and finding herself leaning back into Robin, feeling a sense of comfort that she’s beginning to become used to—but not quite enough to take it for granted. Smiling, she turns her face toward her shoulder; her smile deepening as she realizes Robin’s gaze stretches beyond her, to their sons. “We promised, so I think we have to.”

Regina hands Robin the stuffed monkey, watching as he sits down carefully at the edge of Henry’s bed, his hand falling over Henry’s knee, as he rubs the other hand gently against Roland’s arm. She can’t help but smile as she moves toward them, watching how affectionate he is with both children.

She’s never had someone like him in her life—someone who loves so freely and unabashedly. He’s there and he’s constant, unwavering and steadfast with no motive other than that he loves them and wants them to be happy. They’re a family, the four—soon to be five—of them, and they’re everything and more than what she’s searched for.

“Roland,” he says gently as the little boy’s eyes flutter. “Look who we found?”

Roland’s sleepy eyes widen as he reaches for the stuffed toy, “You found him!? Where was he?”

“He was hiding in your jacket sleeve,” Regina replies, smiling as he hugs the monkey tight against his chest. “He must have had such a good time with you on the swing set, he wanted to make sure you took him again.”

“Yeah,” Roland yawns. “We did have good time. Henry pushed us on the swings.”

“Then you’ll have to make sure to take him again…and bring him back,” Robin says, as he leans in and kisses the boy’s forehead. “Get some sleep, okay?”

Roland nods groggily as he hugs the stuffed monkey closer to him. “G’night, Daddy. G’night Regina.”

“Good night, my sweet boy,” Regina murmurs quietly as she leans in to kiss him on the cheek.

Her hand closes around Robin’s as she pulls him up and leads him into the hallway. She pulls the bedroom door closed and turns, leaning up onto her toes to peck his lips. “Can you go make sure we locked up?”

“Of course.”

Her bottom lip catches between her teeth as she watches him walk toward the stairs. Taking a breath, she turns toward the bedroom and smiles—she’s never been so sure of anything.

She waits for him, sitting on the edge of the bed; her stomach flutters, but she can’t help but smile at her handiwork. She hears his footsteps and she stands, watching as he pushes the door open, and watching as his eyes widen and a slow smile pulls at the corners of his mouth.

The room is filled with lit candles and their soft glow deepens the hue of the red rose petals that are scattered across the bed and the flowers that sit in a vase beside a chilling bottle of champagne; the crystal glasses glimmer and shine in the candlelight.

“You…did all of this? When I was downstairs.”

She grins, holding her hands up and wiggling her fingers, “Just a little bit of magic.”

He nods, grinning as he closes the door. “Regina…what…?” He shakes his head and smiles as his words fail him.

“I couldn’t do much about dinner,” she says, “But, perhaps you’d be willing to offer a raincheck?” He nods, stepping further into the room, looking around and taking in the details. “You said you were waiting for the perfect moment to present itself, but if life has taught me anything, it doesn’t quite work that way. If you want anything in life, you have to take a chance and make it happen.”

“You don’t have to do this, Regina,” Robin says gently.

“I know,” she tells him. “But I want to…and, considering you bought a ring, I think you want this, too.”

He grins, laughing a little as he takes her hand. “Before, you seemed…unsure.”

“I was,” she admits. “I never thought I’d marry again, and I don’t have fond memories of marriage. It quite literally drove me mad.” She pauses and takes a step closer, “When we were downstairs, I…I didn’t have time to process it. I found the ring and I was caught off guard, and before I could collect my thoughts you standing in front of me…and…” She shakes her head. “But when I was able to step back and think about, and process it, I…I realized that I can’t think of any reason I wouldn’t want to marry you. I love you and I love our family, and the life that we’re already sharing.” She shrugs her shoulders and offers a meek smile. “It might not be the perfect moment you were looking for, but it’s the one we have and I don’t want to lose it.” Taking a breath, she smiles again. “Will you marry me?”

She watches the smile stretch instantly over his lips as his blue eyes shine. “Yes,” he says simply. “I would be honored to be your husband.” She laughs gently, almost nervously, as he fishes out the red, satin ring box, turning it toward her as he opens it. “So, should we make this official?”

She feels her smile pulling at the corners of her mouth as she nods and he slides the silver band onto her finger. She glances up at him quickly, then holds her hand out in front of herself—the feels lighter than she anticipated and not at all confining; a perfect fit.

His hand falls to her waist and draws her in, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze. “You were wrong,” he tells her, his smile growing coy. “But so was I.” She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes. “You said there were no perfect moments and I thought I’d missed it.” He shakes his head, “But this—this feels quite perfect, don’t you agree?”

Her smile brightens as his hands settle low on her hips. She nods, reaching up and tracing her fingers over his cheeks; once more her breath catches as she feels a rush of emotion—the path to this moment was long, interrupted and full of lost chances, but now that she’s found him, the path somehow seems worthwhile and the life they share together—with Henry and Roland, and soon, a new baby—is more than she ever expected to find.

And he’s right, this moment could not feel anymore perfect.


End file.
